In Earnest

Heeyyyyyy! I am still here.  In my life.  Chugging, chugging, chugging along.
I have not gone one day without thinking about writing.  I am two weeks into a time period which had been blocked out for writing a book proposal.  Other obligations pushed that out but now I am returning to the atmospheric continuum with renewed zest.
I just became an Amazon Associate and successfully planted a link to the movie Shakespeare In Love.  Good on me, mate.  
I'm sorry to see Borders going under.  My bookstore loyalty went to them over Barnes and Noble.  I think that has to do with the fact that Borders put in the computer terminals before Barnes and Noble.  I saw that as a courtesy reflecting a lower key sales style.  They relinquished the sales opportunity represented by the moment the shopper is face to face with a salesperson asking for help.  I'd had thoughts that maybe Amazon would buy Borders.  
Anyway, they didn't.  So now I will be planting sales opportunities on my blog for Amazon not Borders.  Blogger has made this pretty easy.  It did take me a while to find the place where the easy part was hiding though.
Another thing I learned today relating to blogging and this blog in particular; I had almost 300 views last month.  That is uplifting.  I can think of some random reasons why that might be so.  I choose to be uplifted nonetheless.
If there happen to be people other than my Dad who are checking in occasionally, thank you.  Hope to be much more productive in the coming weeks.

stats (no link here)

I just found the stats section of the settings for my blog.

I have had 778 people stumble on this writing.  That's something to think about.

778 is a whole bunch of people.  Even if the 5 people whom I have alerted (1.5 years ago) came back a few times... there are still rather a large number of people in the world who have now looked at this.

still in fits and starts phase but not quite inert...

I've initiated another page/blog over on Salon.com.

lately the idea of just writing a book presents itself.  I've read a couple of books on book proposals and have spoken briefly with an acquaintance who wrote a book and found a publisher.  His main suggestion was just to write every day without exception for a certain amount of time or pages.  This makes a lot of sense since I've managed to not write regularly for a whole year and one half now.

Several days ago I was contemplating the improbability of book writing next to the ongoing impulse to write.  I thought this is like trying to give birth to a child while putting a ship (or the child) in a bottle.  It's like two conflicting impulses together.

Marianne Williamson interview which I found encouraging

(when you click on the the title you will go to Alternatives UK's menu of free podcasts.  Pass person who appears to have gone a little overboard with elective surgery...Scroll way down to Marianne Williamson and then follow directions.  She really is good at making the spiritual truth accessible.  When I talk about the truth as I see it people's eyes glaze over.  She makes you go "Ohhhhhhh! I get it!" )

So yesterday I listened to President Obama's weekly address.  I receive emails from the White House and you can too!  I don't always open the emails but yesterday I did.  His address was focused on corporate influence on elections which is not accompanied by identification of donors.  Businesses can put money into politics already but the new development has to do with the amounts of money and the clandestine nature of the contributions.  Anyway, I posted the link to Facebook and sent a link to a bunch of people.  Probably you were one of them.  I mentioned using the power of the vote to elect leaders who put human rights before corporate rights.  Marianne Williamson uses very similar language towards the end of this lecture.

It irks me no end to hear people such as the array of brilliant minds on the Fox News platform using their power to influence already fearful people into more fear.  You are either in the TEA PARTY or you are a Communist.  If you are concerned with feeding and clothing hungry children you are a Communist.  Well let me go out on a limb here and state that feeding, clothing and educating children is very important to me.  How radical!  I call it Democracy.  It makes me happy.  

Marianne Williamson touches on that idea, care of children as a priority of collective effort, and I find that when I hear other people speak that goal from power I calm down.  I still remember weeping when Liv Ullman spoke from her position as UN Ambassador for Children and asked why the welfare of children always comes last.  Talk about Mama Grizzlies; she was pissed off!  I'll bet that's on YouTube since everything else is.  I don't know why the (totally avoidable) suffering of others should cause me pain.  I don't know why the stifling of other people's minds should cause me to feel anger.  But if I take that energy and use it to help maybe I will feel better.

So, my spiritual path now includes canvassing for the Democratic Party.  I really dread the actual doing of this.  We'll see how it goes.

And I dedicate this next song to Glenn Beck.  It may have been written for him.  The verse is 'F U' just so you know.  But it's still great. link to song I heard while standing outside dressing room in Hollister store while my big little girl tried on jeans. I sought out a sales clerk to ask who is that singing. It's Lily Allen God bless her.

meditation challenge

OK.  I'm a little chagrined that I haven't written anything since May.  I shall not dwell upon that.  

Moving forward:  Since Deepak Chopra wrote a book about Christ which caught my attention I've been more aware of him (Chopra) and have opted in to his web world.  I like his sense of humor.  Also, I've read some of his responses to heartfelt, occasionally heartbreaking, queries posted to his blog.  His responses make sense.  He sounds like someone who practiced medicine seriously, which he did.  He's got Doctor thinking going on.    The Chopra Center has me on their list for email solicitations to pricey retreats.  Today I received an invitation to a FREE 21 day meditation challenge.  I enrolled.

My calendar already said Meditation on August 12.  I'd been looking at the website for a local Tibetan Meditation center and made note of their weekly open meditation.  It is destined.

you can only start from where you are.